Not Quite Vintage

a new friend and a sewing project

I recently made a new friend and I am so glad I met her. Take a look:

I have been saving for quite a while for her. Too long. It seemed like every time I thought I was close to getting her I need to fix something in the house or on the car. Then of course there were all the stupid things I bought that probably added up to way more than she cost because I thought I needed them - you know, like a new pair of shoes, that things on sale at Target that I can't even remember anymore (seriously, Target is so bad for me - I can't leave without spending $50+), the lunches I bought out because I was too lazy to take less than five minutes to pack it. Anyway, I finally got it together and I am so happy.

And unlike when I bought my first generation iPhone, I didn't buy her two months before the new model came out. I waited and now I have a super shiny white MacBook that is super fast and has close to twice as much story as her slightly older model sister. She may be the least expensive model in the lineup, but she is everything I wanted.

And what does this crafter do right after getting a new toy? She searches the net for a great tutorial so they can make her a cover to keep her safe. I found a great tutorial on Sew Mama Sew by Elizabeth from Oh, Fransson. I pretty much followed the tutorial exactly - it was super easy. I used some light pink fleece instead of flannel simply since I didn't have any coordinating flannel in my stash and I set out to complete the project without purchasing anything. One thing I would mention to anyone who works with velcro - be careful with the iron. Luckily I only got it a little bit, but I did slightly melt some of the velcro, oops.

 

I love how the case turned out. It fits snuggly and allows me to tote my MacBook in any bag instead of having to lug around a big laptop bag.

Oh, I forgot to introduce my MacBook's friend Magic. She is just as tiny and shiny but she doesn't have her own cover... yet. 

I need to stop calling her MacBook, maybe I should name her. I brainstormed some names (most were different ways to say white) but didn't come up with anything quite right. Do you have any ideas?

my new toy

Finally! Yay! My new camera was delivered yesterday. It was hard to wait almost a week for it, but the deal I got was worth it (good price, free shipping). Too bad it was dark when I got home so I couldn't take any really pretty pictures. I am so very excited to try it out this weekend... but, oh goodness, looks like the forecast is for rain. Seriously, doesn't that just figure. I will just have to set up some additional indoor lighting and practice while photographing the tutorial I am working on.

It was really hard to choose what camera to get. I went with Canon because it is within my comfort zone. I have had Canon camera's forever. My old school film SLR is a Rebel from way back when Andre Agassi had long hair and short shorts in the commercials. I still love it, but hardly ever take it out to play anymore. I researched for at least a month before choosing the Powershot SX110IS. It has 9MP and 10x optical zoom. It is a bit larger and heavier than many point and shoots - I love this because it actually feels like a real camera in my hand. It allows me to take pictures on auto, with many shooting modes and manually. I like this freedom and think it will help me experiment more with my photos. And lastly, I LOVE the 3 inch LCD.

Stay tuned, hopefully the pictures will get better around here. I love that my iPhone has a camera and I can easily email pictures, but the quality is totally lacking - you can see from the photo above. How funny is it that in order to take a picture of my new camera, I had to use my old camera - I just wasn't in the mood for one of those in the mirror holding the camera shots : )

december grocery challenge

Wow, Frugal Yet Fabulous Holidays (FYF Holidays for short) is getting a lot of positive response. Thank you, it really makes me excited. Seems like I am not the only one feeling the need to get back to basics. All of the changes in the economy have really influenced my relationship with money. I have begun to really think about what I am spending money on. I am not saying I used to spend money willy nilly, but I did have a general feeling that there would always be more. That feeling did make it easier to say yes to an extra inexpensive item while shopping, because was an extra $3 or $5 really going to matter? (How easy is it to do this at Target or the grocery store?) Well, now I realize it does. Those extras add up fast. Not spending money on those extras might have added up to a new computer or a new camera or even more simply made me feel more comfortable right now.

I really hope that the lessons I am learning stick. I am appreciating what I have more. I feel like I have accomplished something when I write a grocery list and stick to it while shopping. I feel proud knowing I am saving and know when I meet my savings goal I am going to feel even more accomplished when I can comfortably by a new computer, no credit involved. I know I will love it that much more. Do any of you feel this way? That even though times are harder right now, the experience may be bringing us back to things that really matter?

One of the ways I am watching my money this month is to challenge myself to a pretty tight grocery budget. Its just me, so I don’t spend a ton on groceries, but I do find that I often buy a bit too much and sometimes waste more than I would like. This is a big month to limit grocery spending, especially with all the holiday baking, but luckily I have already bought a lot of the basics. So, my goal is to only spend $75 on groceries from December 5th through 31st. If I plan my meals, use coupons, write lists and stick to them, I should be good to go... And still be able to cook/bake up many fabulous holiday meals and gifts.

I will be tracking my grocery challenge on my iPhone. I have a great little budget application called Spend. It allows me to create budgets and track my spending and provides me with an amount left total. I used this last month to track my miscellaneous spending during the week. It was a great learning experience and bottom line, I buy too many sodas (I know, I fell off the No Soda April wagon a while ago).

I'll keep you posted along the way. Happy Friday!!

mosaic fun

I just spent some more time over at Kim’s blog – you should go see pictures of her mad decorating skills on Rate My Space!  And try out the fun Flickr photo Q&A she posted about. Answer 12 questions, search on Flickr and add the pictures to a mosaic. I totally love how mine turned out. It was a great mental diversion, just what I needed this morning.

I think the mosaic generator at Big Huge Labs may become one of my favorite things. Seriously, I can’t believe I waited so long to try it!

1. Colleen S. & Jackie S. - NWC Cheerleaders - 1979, 2. TV Dinner, 3. Joe's, 4. Meeting the pregnant princess of the forest, 5. James Blake, 6. Refresco, 7. Rathkieran Church, 8. 14th August 2007 / Day 226, 9. Portrait of love, 10. the transition out of the crib is going well..., 11. ....walking on egg shells...., 12. Friday's haul!

big run on sentence

Been pretty quiet the past week on the craft front - just been chugging along on my holiday knitting of scarves and dish clothes, but nothing is really ready to show.

About a month ago, I got a "you have exceeded your free limit" message from Flickr, so I had to upgrade to a Pro account. As a little incentive, you get a set of 10 Moo Cards when you upgrade. I finally received mine. Pretty cute I think. It is odd to see your own crafty work printed up professionally. I may have to get more of these sometime.

I also ordered a set of note cards from Etsy last week. I did a search for 4x6, so I really thought they were going to be 4x6, but they are much smaller. I probably didn't really read the description well enough. I do like them, but they will not fit the frames I had set aside for my bedroom. My bedroom really needs some art and I just need to take the plunge and put some up - I have some frames and some art (these note cards and a set of 8 x 8 prints), but none of the sizes match. So, I either need new art or new frames. Hmmm.

Last week, I did get a very special little present from Dawn - a crochet coffee cozy. It is so perfect. She brought it to me at a Adobe CS3 seminar we went to for work. See the picture below - it has the coffee cozy and an example of one of the techniques we learned (Gaussian Blur, Fade to Hard Light). It was a good day and not only because we could wear casual clothes instead of corporate wear.

desk chairs and iPod headphones...

Just don't mix. Oops. This is just how my day is going today. Guess I need to stop by the Apple store today or my walk tonight will be mighty boring... not to mention my afternoon at work.

intuition

I know I have been all contemplative lately, but this story ends good, promise.

When looking back on my life (I do look forward too), I have a few regrets and a few amazing successes. I am not going to get too specific, but I can tell you one thing, my intuition rocks. Trusting it is another story all together. I can directly relate a few regrets to going against my gut reaction and instincts. Like in college, I should have known not to move out of the dorm sophomore year and live with "Jory" when my gut told me not to sign the lease. What did I get in return, a year full of torturous "you can't use my stuff" (even though her stuff equaled the living room and mine the kitchen... and guess who used the microwave?" and coming home to a new kitten when I am allergic.

Colleen, snap out of it, that was like 15 years ago, move on. Anyway, in turn, I can relate a few successes to my gut too. I just knew (oops, back 15 years again) Loyola was the right university for me immediately when I stepped on campus during a visit. I just felt at home. Turns out, my Grand Pops went there and walked the same halls... Similarly, (flash forward 11 years) I just knew to buy my house because after touring about 20 different houses, it felt right. And it had nothing to do with just being tired of looking at houses.

So, why am I writing about this now? Well, during my trip to New York, I had an intuition moment. No big regret or success story here, just an added bonus. At the seminar, they scanned our badges during a break out. They said it was to enter us into a grand prize drawing. I thought nothing of it, but a few minutes later, my mind wondered and I got this thought in my head - "I am going to win the drawing." It was quickly followed by "no way, start paying attention." It never entered my head again... until I got an email telling me I won. Crazy!

Lesson learned: Trust your intuition. And sometimes your emotions - if you have an adverse reaction (or good reaction" to something, trust in it. Positive reactions are even better.

Oh... and free presents are fun. See what I won:

Sirius Satellite Radio Sportster 4 with 6 months subscription.  Can't wait to hook it up. My poor Jeep deserves some T L C.

nifty card generator

A friend just emailed me this link to Catalog Card Generator. It is pretty cool. Worth playing around with. I love the vintage look. I can see similar type cards in collage projects... makes me want to go out and get a bunch of index cards, an old typewriter and some tea (for aging the index cards, of course). It would be fun to type up all my ideas and catalog them, or post them up on my bulletin board.

apple + phone = need bigger piggy bank

There really isn't much I can say... I am speechless actually. If you haven't heard about this yet, visit apple.com to see the amazing photos and spiffy videos.

Once again, saved by the fact that they will not be available till June and my current cell contract doesn't expire until September. But goodness, I need a new toy!

photos galore

Finally, I set up my very on flickr account. I have seen so many flash flickr badges on other blogs... fun, rotating images. Posie's always makes me want to paint my craft room in Behr's River Edge. Anyway, even though there aren't many pictures yet, I can see the possibilities.

Flickr is so much fun to browse - and use - but just by searching a simple phrase, you never know what you might find. Like 24,000+ guilt images or 160,000+ puppies. Serious inspiration source.

I can't wait to do more. Which means use my camera more. Take better pictures. Play in PhotoShop. And of course, share.

And its free. Cool. Go play!